{"id":2102963,"date":"2026-08-20T09:01:26","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T06:01:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2102963"},"modified":"2026-08-20T09:01:26","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T06:01:26","slug":"silica-gel-ballad-of-you-review-korean-indie-heroes-confound-and-intrigue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2102963","title":{"rendered":"Silica Gel \u2013 \u2018Ballad Of You\u2019 review: Korean indie heroes confound and intrigue"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Silica-Gel-Credit-Taemin-Ha.jpg&#8221;]<\/p>\n<article id=\"template-id-3332206\" class=\"post-3332206 tdb_templates type-tdb_templates status-publish post\">\n<div id=\"tdi_65\" class=\"tdc-zone\">\n<div class=\"tdc_zone tdi_66  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div id=\"tdi_67\" class=\"tdc-row stretch_row_1400 td-stretch-content\">\n<div class=\"vc_row tdi_68  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column tdi_70  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_featured_image tdi_71 tdb-content-horiz-left td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_71\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"696\" height=\"442\" class=\"entry-thumb\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Silica-Gel-Credit-Taemin-Ha-696x442.jpg\" alt=\"Silica Gel Ballad of You Review\" title=\"Silica Gel Credit Taemin Ha\"><figcaption class=\"tdb-caption-text\">Silica Gel. Credit: Taemin Ha<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"tdi_72\" class=\"tdc-row stretch_row\">\n<div class=\"vc_row tdi_73  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column tdi_75  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_breadcrumbs tdi_76 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 tdb-breadcrumbs \" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_76\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span>Reviews<\/span><span>Album Reviews<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_title tdi_77 tdb-single-title td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_77\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Silica Gel \u2013 \u2018Ballad Of You\u2019 review: Korean indie heroes confound and intrigue<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_subtitle tdi_78 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_78\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p>Ever inventive, the Seoul-based band maintain their sense of fun and unpredictability on their ideas-stuffed third album <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_review_overall tdi_79 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_79\">\n<table class=\"td-review td-fix-index\">\n<tr class=\"td-review-footer rate_stars\">\n<td class=\"td-review-score\">\n<div class=\"td-review-overall\">\n<div class=\"td-review-final-score\">4<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_author tdi_80 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 tdb-post-meta\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_80\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-author-name-wrap\"><span class=\"tdb-author-by\">By<\/span> Rhian Daly<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_date tdi_81 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 tdb-post-meta\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_81\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><time class=\"entry-date updated td-module-date\" datetime=\"2026-08-20T10:01:26+01:00\">20th August 2026<\/time><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"tdi_82\" class=\"tdc-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_row tdi_83  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column tdi_85  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_content tdi_86 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 td-post-content tagdiv-type\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_86\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p>It\u2019s about time the wider world caught up with Silica Gel. Since initially forming a decade ago, the South Korean band have consistently made records that surge with creativity, from the wiry \u201980s alt-pop of their 2016 self-titled debut\u2019s \u2018Everybody Does\u2019 to the majestic sprawl of 2023\u2019s \u2018Ryudejakeiru\u2019. But although they\u2019ve already been hailed as heroes of Korea\u2019s indie scene, they\u2019ve yet to receive the widespread acclaim they deserve further afield.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>READ MORE: Madra Salach are remoulding traditional Irish folk to their own blistering tune<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u2018Ballad Of You\u2019, their third album, could change that. When the four-piece spoke to <i>NME<\/i> last summer, around their Japanese Breakfast collaboration \u2018NamgungFEFERE\u2019, drummer Kim Geonjay told us: \u201cWe have one goal, which is trying to do something fun.\u201d This record certainly achieves that aim, taking madcap tangents and running with them with glee, whether they\u2019re creating busy but bright interludes like \u2018Crybaby\u2019, indulging in squealing guitar solos amid the plink-plonk of single \u2018Molecular Gastronomy\u2019 or bouncing through the strutting sheen of \u2018Postpink\u2019.<\/p>\n<div class=\"td-a-ad id_inline_ad0 id_ad_content-horiz-center\"><span class=\"td-adspot-title\">Advertisement<\/span><\/div>\n<p>By the time you reach \u2018You Just Wanna Have Some Fun\u2019 in the middle of the tracklist, then, you\u2019ll likely be expecting the playfulness to go off the scale based on the title alone. Yet here, Silica Gel toy with us, instead delivering an instrumental piece led by polished organ chords that fade out in a drone. On the surface, it might be less fun than the rest of this ideas-stuffed record, but it\u2019s cheeky and irreverent in its own way; a subtle piece of humour for the album\u2019s centrepiece.<\/p>\n<p>&#8221; width=&#8221;696&#8243; height=&#8221;522&#8243; src=&#8221;https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/AJluE9pTg6o?feature=oembed&amp;enablejsapi=1&#8243; frameborder=&#8221;0&#8243; allow=&#8221;accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share&#8221; referrerpolicy=&#8221;strict-origin-when-cross-origin&#8221; allowfullscreen=&#8221;&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not just in the music that the Seoul-based band possess depth. \u2018Ballad Of You\u2019 is packed with conceptual intricacies, taking its foundations from Osamu Tezuka\u2019s unfinished manga series <i>Phoenix<\/i>. In each of the 12 stories in the series, the cartoonist explores reincarnation and immortality, and Silica Gel spin off those themes with their own idea of \u201cspiral molting\u201d \u2013 or the notion that reincarnation is less about repeating life than progressing forward. <i>\u201cStill waiting on the words I once banished \/ To carry it into the next life\u201d<\/i>, Kim Hanjoo sings on the urgent whirl of \u2018Big Void\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>As intriguing as Silica Gel\u2019s third album is, it does lack some of the potency of its predecessor, 2023\u2019s \u2018Power Andre 99\u2019. Even through meandering moments like \u2018Up Quark\u2019, though, their brilliance shines through enough to keep you hooked. And that \u2013 more so than writing in English, as they do more than ever here \u2013 is what will hopefully finally catch the attention of a larger global audience for this singular band.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Details<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3782516 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Silica-Gel-Ballad-of-You-Artwork.jpg\" alt=\"silica gel ballad of you review\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\"><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Record label:<\/strong> CAM<\/li>\n<li><strong>Release date:<\/strong> August 20, 2026<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_tags tdi_87 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_87\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<ul class=\"tdb-tags\">\n<li><span>Related Topics<\/span><\/li>\n<li>Indie<\/li>\n<li>Silica Gel<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"tdi_88\" class=\"tdc-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_row tdi_89  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column tdi_91  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"vc_row_inner tdi_93  vc_row vc_inner wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column_inner tdi_95  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-inner-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"vc_column-inner\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper td_block_wrap vc_raw_html tdi_97 \">\n<div class=\"td-fix-index\">\n<h3>More Stories<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap td_flex_block_1 tdi_98 td-pb-border-top td_module_flex_1--card td_module_flex_1--card--highlight td_block_template_2 tdc-no-posts td_flex_block\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_98\">\n<div id=\"tdi_98\" class=\"td_block_inner td-mc1-wrap\">\n<div class=\"td_module_flex td_module_flex_1 td_module_wrap td-animation-stack\">\n<div class=\"td-module-container td-category-pos-above\">\n<div class=\"td-module-meta-info\">\n                    Film News<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"entry-title td-module-title\">Full trailer, artwork and streaming date released for Pulp\u2019s new \u2018What Do You Do For An Encore?\u2019 film<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_module_flex td_module_flex_1 td_module_wrap td-animation-stack\">\n<div class=\"td-module-container td-category-pos-above\">\n<div class=\"td-module-meta-info\">\n                    Music News<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"entry-title td-module-title\">Here\u2019s Phoebe Bridgers covering Nirvana\u2019s \u2018Lithium\u2019 for the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_module_flex td_module_flex_1 td_module_wrap td-animation-stack\">\n<div class=\"td-module-container td-category-pos-above\">\n<div class=\"td-module-meta-info\">\n                    Music News<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"entry-title td-module-title\">Wolf Alice complete run of \u2018The Clearing\u2019 B-sides with the folksy \u2018Hit The Sky\u2019<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_module_flex td_module_flex_1 td_module_wrap td-animation-stack\">\n<div class=\"td-module-container td-category-pos-above\">\n<div class=\"td-module-meta-info\">\n                    Music Interviews<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"entry-title td-module-title\">Gang of Youths talk easing into a new era on \u2018Things Take Time\u2019: \u201cIt felt like a proper break with the past\u201d<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_module_flex td_module_flex_1 td_module_wrap td-animation-stack\">\n<div class=\"td-module-container td-category-pos-above\">\n<div class=\"td-module-meta-info\">\n                    Music News<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"entry-title td-module-title\">\u2018A Very Laufey Day\u2019 returns for 2026 with worldwide events<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_module_flex td_module_flex_1 td_module_wrap td-animation-stack\">\n<div class=\"td-module-container td-category-pos-above\">\n<div class=\"td-module-meta-info\">\n                    Music News<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"entry-title td-module-title\">Geese\u2019s Cameron Winter announces \u2018Live At Carnegie Hall\u2019 album<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"tdi_99\" class=\"tdc-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_row tdi_100  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column tdi_102  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper td_block_wrap vc_raw_html tdi_104 \">\n<div class=\"td-fix-index\">\n<h3>You May Also Like<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"td-page-meta\"><\/span><span class=\"td-page-meta\"><span class=\"td-page-meta\"><\/span><\/span><span class=\"td-page-meta\"><\/span><span class=\"td-page-meta\"><span class=\"td-page-meta\"><\/span><span><\/span><\/span><span class=\"td-page-meta\"><\/span><\/article>\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_content tdi_86 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 td-post-content tagdiv-type\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_86\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p>It\u2019s about time the wider world caught up with Silica Gel. Since initially forming a decade ago, the South Korean band have consistently made records that surge with creativity, from the wiry \u201980s alt-pop of their 2016 self-titled debut\u2019s \u2018Everybody Does\u2019 to the majestic sprawl of 2023\u2019s \u2018Ryudejakeiru\u2019. But although they\u2019ve already been hailed as heroes of Korea\u2019s indie scene, they\u2019ve yet to receive the widespread acclaim they deserve further afield.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>READ MORE: Madra Salach are remoulding traditional Irish folk to their own blistering tune<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u2018Ballad Of You\u2019, their third album, could change that. When the four-piece spoke to <i>NME<\/i> last summer, around their Japanese Breakfast collaboration \u2018NamgungFEFERE\u2019, drummer Kim Geonjay told us: \u201cWe have one goal, which is trying to do something fun.\u201d This record certainly achieves that aim, taking madcap tangents and running with them with glee, whether they\u2019re creating busy but bright interludes like \u2018Crybaby\u2019, indulging in squealing guitar solos amid the plink-plonk of single \u2018Molecular Gastronomy\u2019 or bouncing through the strutting sheen of \u2018Postpink\u2019.<\/p>\n<div class=\"td-a-ad id_inline_ad0 id_ad_content-horiz-center\"><span class=\"td-adspot-title\">Advertisement<\/span><\/div>\n<p>By the time you reach \u2018You Just Wanna Have Some Fun\u2019 in the middle of the tracklist, then, you\u2019ll likely be expecting the playfulness to go off the scale based on the title alone. Yet here, Silica Gel toy with us, instead delivering an instrumental piece led by polished organ chords that fade out in a drone. On the surface, it might be less fun than the rest of this ideas-stuffed record, but it\u2019s cheeky and irreverent in its own way; a subtle piece of humour for the album\u2019s centrepiece.<\/p>\n<p>&#8221; width=&#8221;696&#8243; height=&#8221;522&#8243; src=&#8221;https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/AJluE9pTg6o?feature=oembed&amp;enablejsapi=1&#8243; frameborder=&#8221;0&#8243; allow=&#8221;accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share&#8221; referrerpolicy=&#8221;strict-origin-when-cross-origin&#8221; allowfullscreen=&#8221;&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not just in the music that the Seoul-based band possess depth. \u2018Ballad Of You\u2019 is packed with conceptual intricacies, taking its foundations from Osamu Tezuka\u2019s unfinished manga series <i>Phoenix<\/i>. In each of the 12 stories in the series, the cartoonist explores reincarnation and immortality, and Silica Gel spin off those themes with their own idea of \u201cspiral molting\u201d \u2013 or the notion that reincarnation is less about repeating life than progressing forward. <i>\u201cStill waiting on the words I once banished \/ To carry it into the next life\u201d<\/i>, Kim Hanjoo sings on the urgent whirl of \u2018Big Void\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>As intriguing as Silica Gel\u2019s third album is, it does lack some of the potency of its predecessor, 2023\u2019s \u2018Power Andre 99\u2019. Even through meandering moments like \u2018Up Quark\u2019, though, their brilliance shines through enough to keep you hooked. And that \u2013 more so than writing in English, as they do more than ever here \u2013 is what will hopefully finally catch the attention of a larger global audience for this singular band.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Details<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3782516 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Silica-Gel-Ballad-of-You-Artwork.jpg\" alt=\"silica gel ballad of you review\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\"><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Record label:<\/strong> CAM<\/li>\n<li><strong>Release date:<\/strong> August 20, 2026<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>[analyse_source url=&#8221;https:\/\/www.nme.com\/reviews\/album\/silica-gel-ballad-of-you-review-3963767&#8243;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Silica-Gel-Credit-Taemin-Ha.jpg&#8221;] Silica Gel. Credit: Taemin Ha ReviewsAlbum Reviews Silica Gel \u2013 \u2018Ballad Of You\u2019 review: Korean indie heroes confound and intrigue Ever inventive, the Seoul-based band maintain their sense of fun and unpredictability on their ideas-stuffed third album 4 By Rhian Daly 20th August 2026 It\u2019s about time the wider world caught up [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,78],"class_list":["post-2102963","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nme-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2102963","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2102963"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2102963\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2102963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2102963"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2102963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}